One mechanism for purifying, separating, or concentrating molecules of interest is called Synchronous Coefficient Of Drag Alteration (or “SCODA”) based purification. SCODA is an approach that may be applied for purifying, separating, or concentrating particles. SCODA may be applied, for example, to DNA, RNA and other molecules including proteins and polypeptides.
SCODA-based transport is used to produce net motion of a molecule of interest by synchronizing a time-varying driving force, which would otherwise impart zero net motion, with a time-varying drag (or mobility) altering field. If application of the driving force and periodic mobility alteration are appropriately coordinated, the result is net motion despite zero time-averaged driving force.
SCODA is described in the following publications:                U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0139867 entitled “Scodaphoresis and methods and apparatus for moving and concentrating particles”;        PCT Publication No. WO 2006/081691 entitled “Apparatus and methods for concentrating and separating particles such as molecules”;        PCT Publication No. WO 2009/094772 entitled “Methods and apparatus for particle introduction and recovery”;        PCT Publication No. WO 2010/051649 entitled “Systems and methods for enhanced SCODA”;        PCT Publication No. WO 2010/121381 entitled “System and methods for detection of particles”;        U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/153,185 filed 3 Jun. 2011 entitled “Systems and methods for enhanced SCODA”;        U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/218,124 filed 25 Aug. 2011 entitled “Systems and methods for enrichment and detection of particles”;        Marziali, A.; Pel, J.; Bizotto, D.; Whitehead, L. A., “Novel electrophoresis mechanism based on synchronous alternating drag perturbation”, Electrophoresis 2005, 26, 82-89;        Broemeling, D.; Pel, J.; Gunn, D.; Mai, L.; Thompson, J.; Poon, H.; Marziali, A., “An Instrument for Automated Purification of Nucleic Acids from Contaminated Forensic Samples”, JALA 2008, 13, 40-48;        Pel, J.; Broemeling, D.; Mai, L.; Poon, H.; Tropini, G.; Warren, R.; Holt, R.; Marziali, A., “Nonlinear electrophoretic response yields a unique parameter for separation of biomolecules”, PNAS 2008, vol. 106, no. 35, 14796-14801; and        So, A.; Pel, J.; Rajan, S.; Marziali, A., “Efficient genomic DNA extraction from low target concentration bacterial cultures using SCODA DNA extraction technology”, Cold Spring Harb. Protoc. 2010, 1150-1153,        
each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.